Degradation and oblivion

Heritage Cemetery N°2 of Panteón hill of Valparaíso and the problem of its conservation

Abstract

The three oldest heritage cemeteries in Valparaíso currently coexist on a plateau 30 meters above sea level, declared Historical Monuments by the Council of National Monuments of Chile in 2005. Two of them were founded in 1825, and the third in 1846 along with the jail that was located on the adjacent hill.

Over the years, the Panteón and Cárcel Hill that used to be in the periphery, got trapped in the middle of the city, with which, they have had to reinvent and revitalize themselves through new uses and infrastructures, among them, the Valparaíso Cultural Park located in the grounds of the former Prison. The building of an old prison may become something else, but not a cemetery. These sites are part of an urban circuit to which they no longer belong, and have been submerged into a heritage devaluation that results in the abandonment, deterioration and also the vandalization of their graves and structures in general. This article analyzes three variables that explain the reason for this spiral of degradation with no apparent exit, focusing on the particular case of Municipal Cemetery No. 2.